Perks and benefits are a big part of the recruitment process. We use them to attract top talent, and jobseekers weigh up the perks alongside salary when considering job offers.
With remote working becoming more popular and unlikely to die out, the perks and benefits offered to office-based workers won’t always be as attractive to remote workers – employees working from home won’t be able to take advantage of the on-site gym or restaurant, for example.
Obviously, some benefits are universal and apply to all staff, pensions and health insurance for example, but we list below seven perks and benefits those working from home will especially love.
1. Free food
Who doesn’t love free food? There was a time when paper Luncheon Vouchers were handed out with wage packets to help subsidise lunches, but Luncheon Vouchers died out many years ago. Your in-office employees may have a beautiful and subsidised canteen they can grab breakfast, lunch or a snack from, but what about your staff working at home? Subsidise their meals by sending them a monthly voucher for one of the many food delivery apps or have a monthly subscription to a sweet or savoury snack box delivered to their door.
2. Gym membership
Gym membership is often enjoyed by in-office staff, whether that’s by way of the luxury and convenience of it being in the same building as their workplace, or by a membership to the local health club. Your remote workers will also appreciate a membership to their local gym and, if you allow them to choose when they can go so they can make that 11am pilates class (see number 7 below), they’ll love you even more!
3. Up-to-date technology
If you provide your in-office staff with cutting-edge technology, huge monitors and speedy internet, don’t neglect your home-based employees by making them suffer with tiny-screened battered old laptops and crawling internet speeds. Give them a yearly allowance to spend on upgrading their technology or broadband, help them to work more productively and without the headaches of out of date or slow technology.
4. A comfortable workspace
Carrying on from the technological considerations above, your team should be as comfortable working from home as they would be in the office. You wouldn’t expect your in-office employees to perch on a kitchen chair in a corner of the office, so make sure your remote workers have a comfortable set-up, with a proper office chair and desk, maybe even a standing desk if they’d like one and space allows, let them choose.
5. Distance learning
Are your office-based staff often out on training courses, leaving your remote workers feeling left out? Allow your remote staff to enrol on a distance learning course of their choice to improve their skills and boost their brain power.
6. Celebrations
We all know this situation – the office kitchen full of cakes and sweets in celebration of a colleague’s birthday. Set up a calendar reminder of remote workers’ birthdays or other anniversary and arrange for a cake to be sent to their home address. A card signed by all their office-based co-workers can be sent along with the cake for a personal touch. For the health-conscious remote worker. It doesn’t have to be cake though, a fruit hamper might be more appropriate.
7. Flexible working
One of the reasons people are attracted to remote working is the flexibility it gives them. If you’re prescribing fixed hours and monitoring them, they might be wondering whether it’s worth working at home in the first place. Let your remote workers work their own hours according to when they feel they work best and around other commitments they might have. Perhaps you might even offer them a four day week, as long as they can get all their work done in that time?
We’re sure your remote workers will love any of the above perks and benefits and will help them to feel appreciated and part of the team. And if it saves them money on things they were going to buy anyway, even better!
Author Bio: Gary Bury is co-founder and CEO of Timetastic, an independent and profitable web app for managing time off work, used by thousands of companies around the world.
